FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT MUMMY - PAGE 4

So much of America's tragic and costly failure to care for all its children stems from our tendency to distinguish between our children and other people's children.' Children's crusader Marian Wright Edelman. Her view is that when a child suffers - no matter who that child is- the rest of society does too. It's a wrap: This mummy was old Recent tests on the mummified "Spirit Cave man"in Nevada show he was buried about 9,415 years ago, researchers say. That means he's the oldest mummy found in North America.

Houston, we have a problem...` The $1.5 million Coca-Cola machine on the space shuttle busted right after blastoff last week, leaving the six astronauts soda-less. (Hope the Russian cosmonauts filming a Pepsi commercial on the Mir space station have better luck.) If I were a single man, I might ask that mummy out. That's a good-looking mummy!` President Clinton, joking with a crowd at a fundraiser about the 500-year-old mummy of a teenage Inca girl. (See the story on her)

A 2,800-year-old Egyptian singer who came to the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago in 1920 inside one of the most brilliantly painted Egyptian mummy cases ever recovered is starring in her own gig at the museum beginning Tuesday. The temporary exhibit features information gleaned from powerful CT scans performed on the mummy last year, adding to what already is one of the more documented lives of a real individual who lived in ancient Egypt. Named Meresamun, the 5-foot-5-inch woman was born into a high-ranking family.

Unwrapping a mystery: With or without the Clinton health-care plan, medical insurance doesn't cover all procedures, and neither do school budgets. That's why the history teachers at Naperville Central High School are seeking a low- or no-cost CAT scan. No, it's not for a poor teacher suffering some mysterious illness; the procedure is needed to help determine the age of the school's mummy. The mummy resides on the second floor of the school and has been there since before World War II, according to ancient history teacher Tom Henneberry.

New in theaters: The Mummy. PG-13. Brendan Fraser wants his mummy as a mystery unravels. We know you're busy, but we want your Flickwatch reviews -- so we're gonna bribe you! We'll give a $5 movie certificate to the first five kids to send Flickwatch reviews. Send comments, star rating, first name and last initial, age and address to FLICKWATCHERS/ KidNews/5th floor, Chicago Tribune/435 N. Michigan Ave./Chicago, IL 60611. Or e-mail us at ctc-kidnews @ tribune.com.

Scientists have created the first facial reconstructions of Egypt's King Tutankhamun based on CT scans of his mummy conducted in January in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. The scans--the first done on an Egyptian mummy--suggest King Tut was a healthy, yet slightly built 19-year-old, standing 5-feet-6 at the time of his death. The scans did not resolve the mystery of the death of King Tut, who came to power at age 9. ---------- Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.

Based on the dates of their first appearances in U.S. films, here are the ages of six movie monsters: 1. Frankenstein's monster-60 years old 2. Dracula-60 3. The Mummy-59 4. King Kong-58 5. The Thing-40 6. Godzilla-36

Egyptologists cast doubt Tuesday on an expedition's claim that it may have found the mummy of Queen Nefertiti. Skeptics said X-rays of the mummy found in Luxor's Valley of the Kings, the ancient burial ground for Egypt's pharaohs, indicate it is the body of a 16-year-old girl. Nefertiti is believed to have died in her 30s. The Discovery Channel announced the discovery Monday. It said the team found the mummy in a secret side chamber in a tomb known as KV35, which also housed two other mummies.

In the Ancient Egypt exhibit is one of the Field Museum's most popular sites: The Harwa mummy. Harwa was store-keeper of the temple of Amun in Egypt about 2,650 years ago. He died of unknown causes between the age of 25 and 40 and was then covered with oils and unguents and wrapped in burial bandages.